Dr. Stephanie Castillo
STEM Advocacy Institute Resident Scientist/Phuture Doctors Founder
Dr. Stephanie Castillo is an award-winning video producer and digital storyteller who holds a Ph.D. in science communication from Vanderbilt University. Her SciComm expertise lies in investigating the perception of representation and storytelling in science media among young adults. Dr. Castillo's dedication to promoting underrepresented STEM professionals and their extraordinary careers is showcased on her digital platform, Phuture Doctors. With a strong scientific background, teaching experience, and training in science filmmaking, she creates engaging multimedia science stories tailored for audiences aged 13 and above. The STEM Advocacy Institute is an incubator that provides access to research, infrastructure, mentorship, and community to, put simply, make it easier for new scholars and social entrepreneurs to study, experiment, explore and ultimately build the next generation of initiatives and scholarship in civic science that include the fields of public engagement with science, science communication, informal STEM learning (ISL), community science, science policy, and others. Our mission is to enable and accelerate the building of fundable, sustainable, and accessible initiatives that expand pathways of engagement between people and science around the world.